Aly Raisman joins 'Dancing with the Stars'

Feb. 26, 2013
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Aly Raisman will make her debut on "Dancing with the Stars" next month. In a file photo frmo Aug. 23, 2012, she attends the "Bachelorette" premiere at Arclight Cinemas in Los Angeles. / Matt Sayles, INVISION/AP

by Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY Sports

by Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY Sports

Aly Raisman left the London Olympics with three medals, the most of any American gymnast last summer but her life is about to change. Just ask Shawn Johnson or Kristi Yamaguchi. Both won Olympic gold medals but became better known for winning "Dancing With the Stars."

Raisman and former figure skating champion Dorothy Hamill became the latest Olympic gold medalists to join the show when the contestants for season 16 were announced Tuesday morning. The first show airs on March 18.

Hamill, 56, won Olympic gold at the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics at age 19.

Dubbed the "Fierce Five" the U.S. women won the team gold in London for the first time since 1996. Raisman, 18, showed she has the artistry that could carry over to dance: She became the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic gold on floor in London. But instead of flipping to the music of "Hava Nagila," she will be doing the paso doble.

On DWTS, Raisman will partner with professional dancer Mark Ballas. Hamill has been paired with Tristan Macmanus.

Both Yamaguchi, who won a figure skating gold at the 1992 Olympics, and Johnson, whose team won the gold on the balance beam at the 2008 Games, have said that despite those feats, more people know them because they took home the Mirror Ball Trophy.

"'Hey," people repeatedly asked, "aren't you the girl from 'Dancing With the Stars?'" Johnson wrote in her 2012 autobiography, "Winning Balance."

"That always surprised me because I had never expected the show to define me. 'No," I wanted to say â?¦ 'I'm the girl from the United States Olympic Team!' However, I did understand why people focused on the show.

"The Olympic gymnastics competition was broadcast for just a few hours over the course of a few days during the Games. DWTS came on twice a week, several hours a week, for three months. It made sense that I was more readily identifiable as a dancer, but it seemed as if the biggest milestone of my life had been pushed away."

Baltimore Ravens receiver Jacoby Jones and boxer Victor Ortiz are the other athletes on this season's cast.